Scottish Cup Final: Amoruso adds to his worth

Heads up: Lorenzo Amoruso glances home the winning goal

By Roddy Forsyth at Hampden Park

12:01AM BST 01 Jun 2003

Dundee (0) 0 Rangers (0) 1

A parting gift from Lorenzo Amoruso - assuming that he is bound for Blackburn Rovers or some other club more willing to accommodate his financial needs than Rangers - secured the Tennents Scottish Cup and a clean sweep of the domestic honours for Alex McLeish in his first full season as Ibrox manager.

The Italian defender, stripped of the captaincy by Dick Advocaat, McLeish's predecessor, completed the third leg of the Treble exactly midway through the second half of this dourly contested final at Hampden Park. Amoruso hurled himself across Dundee's six yard line to meet a curling free-kick from Neil McCann and power a header beyond Julian Speroni into the net off the shoulder of Georgi Nemsadze.

It was fitting that a Rangers defender should settle the issue because the demands of a successful campaign on all the home fronts caught up with them at the last. Barry Ferguson, in particular, looked as though he was running on empty and without his midfield partner, Mikel Arteta - the Spaniard having injured his calf in training on Friday - Rangers were forced to toil in the engine room by a Dundee side dedicated to harassing them out of their normal rhythm.

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With Nemsadze, Gavin Rae and Barry Smith operating in close order in the middle of the park, Rangers found considerable difficulty in shifting the ball forward at the sort of pace which would have discomforted Dundee.

However, Dundee's pressure came to nothing around the penalty area where the Rangers central defensive partnership of Amoruso and Craig Moore were as resistant as granite.

This 118th Scottish Cup final always had the look of a game which would be settled by a single goal and Dundee's moment came early as Rae strode forward from midfield to thrash a shot off the back of Amoruso. The ball rebounded to Smith, who took a touch to set himself up and then struck a sweet drive which curled away from Stefan Klos but smacked off his left hand post and ricoched clear.

Rangers, too, struck woodwork, in their case with a header from Michael Mols which canoned off the crossbar, typically from a McCann free-kick, as Rangers slugged their way towards half-time despite enjoying much the greater share of possession.

"Dundee caused us problems with the extra man in midfield in the first half and we had to make an adjustment at the interval," explained a delighted McLeish. "However, you could see that the players had very little more to give and I felt we had to score inside the 90 minutes because I just couldn't see us lasting through extra time.

"I told the players last week that they had exceeded my expectations and that they have been a credit to themselves. They can look in the mirror and say to themselves, 'we've done a good job'. It wasn't just a case of physical fatigue after such a demanding season, it was also a question of mental tiredness."

Amoruso, a man not afraid to stay in touch with his feminine side as well as his appropriate salary level, was dripping tears as he made his way around the pitch on Rangers' post-match lap of honour.

Once more he refused to rule out an extended stay in Glasgow although, since Rangers want to halve his wages while he is unwilling to countenance a drop of more than 20 per cent, considerable compromise will be required to keep him at the club.

"This is fantastic. Maybe I can stay because nothing has been decided. I love this club, I love this country and I love these fans, so perhaps next season Lorenzo can still be here," he said, reverting to his habit of referring to himself in the third person. "I wanted so much to give the fans the Treble and now we have done it.

"Dundee were good, in fact they were fantastic today. They deserved to be in the final and they made it very hard for us".

Dutch veteran Ronald de Boer added: "It's great, especially for the guys who are leaving at the end of the season. But I would give Dundee a big compliment, they were really up for it today."

Dundee's consolation is a place in next season's UEFA Cup, by virtue of losing the final to the newly-crowned champions. Jim Duffy, their manager, said: "I am immensely proud of my players. They really put in an effort for the fans and if they had got an equaliser I feel sure they would have won the game because Rangers were dead on their feet. We have a lot to look forward to, given the fact that we are in the UEFA Cup. I couldn't have asked for more from the lads but it wasn't meant to be."